Flower OneShots
by MadamMistress
Summary: A series of one-shots with flowery themes. SasuSaku Ch4: White and Yellow Tulips This time, she sent him flowers
1. One Single Flower

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

* * *

A single flower grows in a wasteland. Petals dry and withered, its stem so thin it was hard to believe it was supporting the blossom.

He stopped and stared, hearing the footsteps of his teammates halt behind him. Their voices questioned him, asking why they had stopped. He ignored them with practiced ease.

The flower looked so fragile… It was pink… Memories came unbidden, a flash of pink hair, and smiling emerald eyes. He pushed them away with a glimmer of annoyance. They were a weakness. Still…

He pulled out his water bottle and, in a rare show of kindness, poured some water on the flower.

He stepped over and walked on, never looking back. He couldn't. He had a goal; a purpose. And yet…

There are some things you never forget.


	2. Roses Have Thorns

**Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me.**

* * *

He wasn't sure why he was surprised that she was strong. He had heard that she had been training under Tsunade, who, by all accounts, was incredibly strong. Despite what most people seemed to think, his arrogance came, not from over confidence in his abilities, but from his ability to accurately assess his opponents' abilities and to determine how to defeat them within minutes. He never underestimated his adversary. Only a fool did that. So he knew she was strong, not only physically, but emotionally. He had half expected her to start crying again when they met face to face. Now that they had, though, he was glad that she hadn't. Crying was annoying.

He had heard people compare her to flowers time and time again. She was a lily, a tulip, a cherry blossom, a rose. He had privately agreed with the last one when he heard it. She had always been so delicate, so fragile (so beautiful, but he never let himself think like that, even during his darkest moments, when he needed it the most), like a rose bud. So when she punched through solid rock right in front of him, one thought prevailed over all the others.

He ought to have remembered that roses have thorns.

* * *


	3. Hydrangeas Perseverance

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. But you know that, right?

* * *

**

He wasn't sure what possessed him to send her flowers. He didn't want to give her hope, but, at the same time, he wanted her to keep on trying. Still … Flowers? Well, at least they weren't roses. He wasn't sure how he felt about her – he had spent too long suppressing any and all emotions other than hate to know how he felt about anything – but he knew that it would be cruel to do that to her when he had no idea how he felt.

He knew she would figure out what they meant. If _he_ knew what they meant, she would definitely know. And if she didn't, all she'd have to do is show them to her loud-mouthed friend.

He wasn't surprised when she came to find him.

"Thank you." She said. He raised his eyebrows as if to say _"For what?"_

"For the flowers." She clarified. He feigned ignorance. She disregarded that, like she did whenever she thought he was being particularly obtuse.

"I'm not sure whether or not to be flattered, though. I mean, really, Sasuke-kun, hydrangeas? What are you trying to say?" She laughed, her eyes lighting up, and he thought he had never seen anything so beautiful.

"I was," he paused, and sighed and shifted his weight uncomfortably, wishing that the full squad of ANBU detailed to keep watch on him would just leave for a few minutes. He briefly considered telling her to forget it, but she was looking at him so expectantly, and _when had he started caring again?_

"I was just trying to thank you." He managed finally. She just looked at him and smiled, clearly expecting him to continue. "For not giving up."

She flushed a shade of pink that nearly matched her hair. He immediately resolved to make her blush as many times as possible. _Where were these thoughts coming from?_

"We-well." She stammered, trying not to look too pleased at receiving a rare compliment from him. "You're welcome."

"…Hn." She understood what he couldn't say, and just smiled at him.

He would never admit that a small smile crept over his face in return.


	4. White and Yellow Tulips

**Disclaimer: Do I really need to tell you that I don't own Naruto no matter how much I want to?**

* * *

This time, she sent _him_ flowers; a collection of white and pale yellow tulips. It puzzled him to no end. He spent _hours_ brooding (not that he brooded, oh no, Uchiha Sasuke did not brood, no matter how much everyone insisted he was brooding. He just…contemplated things intensely) over their meaning. Tulips? Why, out of all the flowers out there, did she get him tulips? And why was she even getting him flowers?

Finally, he caved, and went out and found her. Actually, to be truthful, he found out exactly when she was getting out of work from the dobe (with the excuse of not training with an exhausted girl as it would be pointless and a waste of time), and caught (not cornered, because that gave off the impression that she couldn't get away, and, for some reason, that made him feel sick) her on her way home.

"Tulips?" He asked as soon as she was close enough to hear. She jumped, obviously, she had let her guard down, not that she'd need to be on her guard when he was around; he'd kill anyone who even _thought_ about hurting her (or looked at her the wrong way), but he ignored that in favor of more important things.

"Why tulips?"

"We-ell," she tucked a stray strand of her pink hair behind her ear and smiled up at him, "why do you think?"

"Sakura," he said sharply, and ignored the way her name rolled off his tongue.

"What?" It came out as a slight giggle, her smile intensifying, as if, he thought, she enjoyed seeing him annoyed. As if she knew he could never be mad at her, not for long.

"Tell me."

"Ah, ah, ah!" She waved her finger at him in a scolding manner, trying, and failing, to be serious; she was smiling too much to be convincing. "Sasuke-kun, if you can't figure out what they mean without asking me, you're not worthy of having them!"

"Well?" He saw how exited she was and sighed.

"Fine." He stated.

"Good! Now go!" She grinned up at him. "Figure it out!" She waved to him as she finished her walk home.

He went home and…contemplated intensely over the meaning of the tulips.

Eventually, he found himself in the library, a place he hadn't visited in a long time, pouring over a book he distinctly remembered his mother getting one day when he was young. He stared at it for a long moment, just remembering how happy his mother had been that day. He let the memory linger for a minute, and then concentrated on the task at hand.

He opened the book to the index, hearing the spine protest at being stretched after such a long time of immobility. He ran his finger down the page until he found tulips. Flipping to the correct page, he read the brief introduction to tulips, how each different colored tulip meant a different thing. He flipped past the pink, red, and purple tulip pages until he found white tulips.

White tulips, according to the book, meant forgiveness. _Well,_ he thought, _it was an interesting way to tell him she forgave him._ He turned the page slowly and read what it said for yellow tulips. Then he read it again, and a smirk slowly took over his face.

_Yellow tulips,_ the book said, _mean hopelessly in love._


End file.
